Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
by Saffron Halifax
Summary: My version of what happened in Harry's fifth year - as if JK's version didn't happen. Action and adventure coupled with the usual fun and laughter that happens at Hogwarts year makes for a very interesting year. (As close to canon as possible)
1. Chapter 1 And So It Begins

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

A/N – This is the first fic I've written properly, so please be kind to me lol. I know the first chapter isn't very original, and very short, but it's kind of an introduction, so be patient. Please, please review!

**Disclaimer – Unfortunately, all these characters belong to JK Rowling not me.**

As the sun rose slowly over Privet Drive, Harry Potter stared, unseeingly out of the window of Number 4; his emerald eyes glazed over and a frown consuming his face. Blinking as the first rays outlined his pale features; he sighed and collapsed onto the bed next to him, burying his head in his hands. The clock next to the bed told him it was 6:30 in the morning, too early for the other inhabitants of the house to be awake but he, Harry, couldn't sleep. It had been this way for the past week and a half, ever since he had arrived home from school; he had been plagued by nightmares, nightmares that were too horrible for him to ignore.

You see, Harry Potter wasn't a normal boy, never had been and never will be. He was a wizard, a pupil at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, arguably the finest wizarding school in the world, with arguably the finest headmaster; Albus Dumbledore.

He had lived as normally as he could when tormented and neglected by the only family he had until the age of 11, when he had found out that he was a wizard, and everyone in the wizarding world knew his name. From then on his life began to spiral out of control; in some ways it changed for the better and others for the worse.

His aunt and uncle told everyone in the Muggle world that he attended St Brutus' school for Incurably Criminal Boys and they treated him as if he was a freak; and to them, he was. In their eyes, someone who could do something that they couldn't was abnormal, which was why Harry hated the school holidays. During term-time, he could escape from the hatred into a world of friendship; somewhere he was truly happy.

However, at the moment, Harry wasn't sure he could ever be happy again. Last year, he had witnessed the re-birth of a Dark Wizard that the whole wizarding world feared; the very wizard that killed his parents. Lord Voldemort. He had been tricked, captured and tortured; seen a fellow student die and been in such pain, he had wished death upon himself, and now, evil had risen again. It was only a matter of time before Lord Voldemort struck, and there was nothing he could do about it.

It was this that overwhelmed his dreams; the guilt, the helplessness and the fear. Coupled with the worry for his friends, and for the wizarding world, Harry was deeply unhappy.

Voices from the next room snapped him out of his daze. Forcing the dark memories to the back of his mind, he glanced once more out of the window. Somewhere out there was Lord Voldemort, waiting for the right moment to strike. This was war.


	2. Chapter 2 A Handful of Letters

**Disclaimer – All these characters belong to JK Rowling, not me.**

A/N - Thanks to 'scared-of-mimes' and 'Adam Kadamon The Neutral Angel' for their reviews. Adam, yes it's only the beginning, and hopefully I'll improve as I go on.

The rest of the summer passed painfully slowly; Harry heard very little from his friends and he grew increasingly frustrated. He spent the days in his room, attempting to distract himself with his homework, or just staring listlessly out of the window. Dark circles rimmed his eyes, and his face yielded little colour. His eyes however, gave nothing away. They were hardened; empty of emotion. He didn't intend to let anyone know how he felt.

On the night of the 30th July, Harry was sat at his desk, attempting to write his Potions essay. He had tried to sleep, but had been tormented by nightmares; images of Cedric Diggory flashed through his mind, and he shook his head blearily, trying to keep himself focused. He found himself getting drowsier, as he stared, groggily at the parchment in front of him.

"_We'll take it at the same time. It's still a Hogwarts victory, we'll tie for it."_

"_You – you sure?"_

"_Yeah…we've helped each other out, haven't we? Let's just take it together."_

"_You're on. Come here"_

"_On three right? One – two – three…"_

_**No, Cedric, no, don't do it! Cedric!**_

_A howl of wind and swirling colours, then:_

"_Kill the spare"_

_**Nooooo!!**_

Harry woke up with a start, sweat dripping from his forehead, his breathing coming in short gasps. A feeling of incredible guilt overwhelmed him as he pushed his glasses back onto his nose and stood up shakily. He barely noticed as his watch beeped midnight, as he gazed out over the roofs of the nearby houses. Blinking, he saw something speeding towards him. Narrowing his eyes, he fingered his wand, which lay in his pocket, and kept a well-trained eye on the object as it came closer. Watching it soar across the street, Harry laughed and relaxed, pocketing his wand and opening the window to let it in.

"Pig! What the hell are you doing here?" He snatched the excitable bird out of the air, shaking his head and plucking the letter off Ron. "Go and say hello to Hedwig, go on."

He watched as Ron's owl sauntered over to his, and helped itself to some of her water. Hedwig glared at him mutinously before taking off into the night skies. Looking amused, Harry watched her go, before turning his attention to the letter Ron had sent him.

**Harry,**

**How are you mate? Sorry we haven't written much, but we've not really been allowed to, new security measure or something. Anyway, Dumbledore's finally said you can come and stay with us. We'll probably pick you up sometime tomorrow (31st July). Probably best to ask Aunt and Uncle, but we'll come and get you whatever they say. Happy Birthday by the way. By the time Pig gets there it probably will be. I'm afraid you'll have to wait for your present until you get here, but it's worth it I promise you!**

**Hermione says hi, no hang on, she wants to say something…why can't she write her own letter.**

_Hiya Harry_

_How are you? I hope you're ok, we've been worried about you. I hope you've at least started on your homework; we've got OWLS this year you know, it's never too early to start revising. I can't wait to see you again. Happy Birthday, though we'll see you tomorrow anyway. Oh, Snuffles and Moony are here too, and they send their love. I'd better go now, Ron looks like he's going to kill me; I swear, he's been a nightmare over the last couple of week. See you soon Harry!_

_Love, Hermione_

**Bloody hell, I swear, you are so lucky you haven't been staying with her. She's made me revise for my OWLs every single day!! We've not even started school yet!! I suppose I'd better send this now if it's going to get to you before we pick you up. See you soon mate**

**Ron.**

Harry laughed and re-read the letter a couple of times, grinning to himself. It felt so good to hear from his friends again; bickering as usual. And Sirius and Lupin were there! He was going to see them all today! His nightmare already forgotten, he grinned and checked his watch; 12:15am. He was 15. Shaking his head, he looked up to see Hedwig soaring over the trees and landing neatly on his windowsill. Holding out her leg, so Harry could take off the letter, she flew over to her cage, looking disdainfully at Pig, who was sleeping on top of it.

Smiling, Harry unrolled the letter and started to read.

**Harry!**

**How are you? **Harry rolled his eyes. So far, every letter had started with the same few words.

**Ron says he's already told you we'll be seeing you tomorrow, but I thought I'd write anyway. Happy 15th Birthday! Like Ron and Hermione, Moony and me will give you you're present when we see you, but I couldn't not say Happy Birthday. I don't know how I'm going to get this to you actually, Ron's just sent Pig off. Bloody hell, Harry I swear, your owl's psychic! She just flew in the window! I'm not complaining though, save me begging Moony for his. I'd better get this off to you, so I'll see you tomorrow. Give your cousin a kick from me, and your Uncle, come to think of it.**

**Snuffles.**

Grinning, Harry set the letter next to Ron and Hermione's, thinking about his friends, who he would be seeing in a few short hours.


	3. Chapter 3 Back Home

The next few hours dragged painfully slowly Harry tried, and failed, to complete his Potions essay, and numerous books were spread across the floor; he'd thrown there earlier in unsuccessful attempts to distract himself. Eventually, he heard faint movements from the room next to him, meaning his aunt and uncle were awake. Glancing at his watch, which told him it was 8:30, he stretched before heading downstairs to make breakfast. He had dressed and packed his trunk long beforehand.

Half an hour later, Harry found himself back in his room, pacing back and forth. Breakfast had included the whole Dursley family glaring at him while he ate. He'd eventually got sick of it and, after informing them he'd be leaving today, stormed up to his room, leaving him in the position he was in now. Glancing at his watch again (9:02) he kicked his trunk in frustration, wincing as a sharp pain shot through his leg. Sighing, he turned to pick up a bundle of parchment he had dislodged, jumping as something tapped on the window behind him. His hand already on his wand, he looked up to see a dazed looking Pig fluttering around on the windowsill. Rolling his eyes, Harry let the excitable owl in, who then proceeded to zoom around his room, sending his lampshade swaying frantically. He grinned and unrolled the letter;

**Harry,**

**We'll be there in a couple of minutes. Sorry I took so long but I wasn't allowed to let you know until just before we set off. I'll explain when we get there. Leave your trunk; Fred and George'll get it. Bring Pig with you though, see you soon,**

**Ron.**

As he finished, Harry heard a frantic knock on the door, followed by a prolonged ring of the doorbell. Laughing, he snatched Pig out of the air and ran downstairs, reaching the door before Vernon did. Pulling the latch, he grinned at the sight of the four red-heads that met his eyes.

"Harry, good to see you mate! How are you?"

"Good afternoon Harry, could we…?" Mr. Weasley gestured to the hallway, glancing nervously over his shoulder as Harry led them inside.

Fred and George immediately bounded upstairs; arriving back in the living room moments later with Harry's trunk hovering in front of them.

Glancing around, Mr. Weasley looked puzzled. "Where are your aunt and uncle?"

Harry shrugged. "Out I guess. They didn't look too happy when I told them you were coming" He laughed along with the twins and Ron, but Mr. Weasley looked uncomfortable.

"I'll get someone to check in on them later." Laughing at Harry's raised eyebrows, he reassured him. "Arabella Figg will probably do it."

As what Mr. Weasley had just said registered, Harry looked at him, shocked. As he rubbed his head wearily, the man he had known for 4 years suddenly looked older than ever before. "Here's really not the place to be discussing that I'm afraid, and I'm not the one that should be telling you. Come on, let's get out of here."

He took an empty chocolate wrapper out of his pocket and held it out to the rest of them. When he was sure everyone had a bit, he muttered "Portus" and Harry felt the familiar tug behind his navel, before he found himself land with a thump on top of Ron. Blinking, he sat up, feeling disorientated.

They seemed to be in some kind of alleyway, but everywhere around them was pitch black. He could just make out the Weasleys around him and glanced at Ron. He put a finger on his lip and listened carefully.

From somewhere to his left, Harry heard Mr. Weasley calling his and Ron's name so, standing up warily, they walked over to the voice.

"Follow me."

Keeping his hand on his wand, Harry nervously followed his friends until they reached the end of the alley. There, Mr. Weasley glanced around again, before muttering something indistinguishable to the wall. Stifling a gasp, Harry watched as a hole appeared in front of them, and then hurried through after Ron, Fred and George. Mr. Weasley followed him and carefully sealed the wall behind him.

From there on, everyone else seemed to know where they were going so Harry knew they must be close. Finally, they reached a small door at the end of the passageway and, pressing his index finger to the door handle; Ron opened it and motioned for Harry to follow him through. As Fred closed the door behind them all, Ron breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed a slice of bread off the table in front of them.

Looking around curiously, Harry saw that they were in some kind of kitchen. There were pans bubbling on the stoves, and dishes washing themselves at the sink. Glancing at Ron, he grinned briefly at him and leaned against the wall.

"Explain."

Ron rolled his eyes and watched his brothers and father walk out of the kitchen before answering.

"It's the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix…" He trailed off at Harry's furrowed eyebrows. "They're the people that actively fight You-Know-Who. They were here last time too, some of the original members are here too; Sirius, Lupin, Dumbledore. Most of them died though, or some just don't want to risk their families. Before, they were adventurous, with nothing to lose. Now they've got families to think about."

Harry suppressed a grin, but Ron didn't miss his friends amused expression. "What?!"

Harry shrugged, laughing. "Nothing, you sound like Hermione, that's all."

Ron tried to look offended, but failed. "I'll take that as a compliment Potter. Nah, seriously, she explained it to me in the first place, I'm just repeating what she said."

"Figures." Harry grinned, dodging his friend's playful punch.

"Come on, Dad and the twins'll have gone to tell everyone you're here. I promised Sirius I'd bring you straight through."

Smiling at the prospect of seeing Sirius again, Harry followed him through a door and into a corridor. They reached a room a short way away, and Ron paused outside, listening carefully.

"Where the bloody hell are they?"

"Don't worry Sirius, I left Ron to explain a few things to him. I'm sure they'll be here soon."

"Told you," Ron muttered, before opening the door and flattening himself against the frame as a huge black dog came running towards Harry, followed closely by Hermione. Grinning, Harry pushed the dog down and hugged Hermione, laughing as the dog changed into a tall, dark man with long black hair.

"Heeeyy, I was first," Harry's godfather mock-pouted, folding his arms sulkily.

Harry laughed, shaking his head. "Hermione had the manners to be in human form when she saw me…and had the decency to say hi first."

"He has a point there Sirius." Harry turned, smiling, to see his favourite professor looking amusedly at the scene in front of him. As he did so, he caught sight of the entire Weasley family, laughing and joking and grinned. He was home.


	4. Chapter 4 Bouncing Ferrets

**Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to update, but I've had a lot on my plate these past couple of months, with coursework and modular exams, but they're out of the way now, so here we are! Please read and review, it means a lot to me. Some of this is rated PG-13 because of mild language.**

Reader Reviews

Maria – As you can see, yep I'm going to continue, sorry it took me so long last time! Hopefully it should be more often from now on.

Disclaimer – I do not own any of J. K.'s characters, nor am I the original author of the books!

Chapter 4 – Bouncing Ferrets

Later on, when everyone was settled around the dinner table, Harry leaned back in his chair and smiled at the laughter and chatter that was going on around him. This is what he had missed; at the Dursley's, it had been so quiet and kind of formal, but here, the hustle and bustle was what he loved. Suddenly, raised voices brought him out of his contemplations and, looking around, he realised that they came from Ron and Hermione at the other end of the table.

"We have OWLs this year, if you hadn't noticed, and if you want to make sure you get good grades, and if you want me to help you, you'd better start revising now!"

"Hermione, the OWLs are months away, we haven't even done any of the work for them yet! Anyway, who says I need you to get good grades! Who says I can't do it myself!" Ron's ears were bright red, and there was anger flashing in his eyes.

"Well you've always needed me before! Never listen to me do you, then you panic when the exams are a couple of weeks away, then it's 'Hermionnneee, can we copy your notes?' 'Hermione, can you check this for me!' You're pathetic, both of you!" here she flashed an angry look at Harry, who held his hands up in mock defence. "Well I'm sick of it! If you won't listen to me, then you can do it yourselves!" She flung her chair back and stormed out of the room, leaving a deflated Ron behind her. Shaking his head, he stalked out in the opposite direction, leaving the kitchen in an amused silence.

Catching Ginny and the twin's eyes, Harry laughed, listening to Ron stomping upstairs.

"Do you think they'll ever realise?"

"Oh Hermione already has, that's why she's so upset, it's Ron that's as thick as two short planks….have you tried speaking to him?"

Both Harry and the twins nodded. "Yeah, but he gets all defensive and starts babbling on about Viktor Krum."

Ginny sighed and glared at the ceiling. "He needs to get over himself!"

Harry nodded. "And in the mean time, I'm stuck having to make my own bloody notes! I mean, what the hell did I do!"

There was general laughter at this and Sirius and Remus, who had been watching the exchange with amusement, grinned.

"So Ron and Hermione like each other then?"

"Like each other! They're practically in love with each other, and the whole of Gryffindor has known since the end of the first year."

"And the whole of the school since the end of the second!"

Harry laughed as he remembered the look on Ron's embarrassed face as Hermione hugged him after she'd been petrified. By the looks on his friend's faces, the same image was in their minds.

"In third year, when they were so mad at each other…"

"Like an old married couple…"

"Drive everyone mad with their bloody bickering…"

"You don't have to hang around with them all the time, you should hear them…"

"Oh we do…"

"We need to do something."

"Like what?"

Fred and George's faces lit up and a mischievous grin spread over their faces. "Leave it with us."

"Hey, we want to be in it too!"

"You will be, we just need to do something first." With that, they scurried out of the room, looking very happy.

Mrs. Weasley narrowed her eyes as she watched them go, but sighed and shrugged her shoulders. At Harry's enquiring look she replied,

"I've given up with them. It's what they really want to do and I can't talk them out of it."

"Yeah, they've been up there most of the summer, they sound-proofed their room and won't come out unless it's for meals. I don't know where they got their money from though; it must have cost a fortune some of the stuff we've seen. They bought me and Ron new dress robes too!" Ginny paused seeing the grin on Harry's face. "What?"

Realisation dawned on several faces in the kitchen as Harry shrugged. Ginny folded her arms, struggling to suppress a grin.

"You gave them that money didn't you! From the Triwizard Tournament!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "I didn't need the money, and I thought we could all do with some laughs these next few years." He spoke lightly, but there was a slight heaviness to his tone that dared anyone to argue with him. "My only condition was that they bought Ron some new dress-robes." He shrugged, "It seems they do have a heart, as long as they didn't turn you bright yellow or set fire to your hair."

Ginny laughed, "They wouldn't have dared." Her face softened and she looked at Harry as if in a new light. "Thank you. You're right, we are going to need some laughs, and I know you've made Fred and George happy."

"Happy?" A voice exclaimed from the doorway. "They've been bouncing around like bloody rabbits all summer!"

"Or ferrets?"

Ron burst out laughing "Or ferrets."

"You calmed down a bit now then?"

"Yeah, sorry about that mate, you shouldn't have to suffer as well."

"Oh I won't I'll copy your notes instead!"

"I wouldn't trust my notes, the only reason I passed anything is because of Hermione!" Ron rolled his eyes and glanced around.

"I suggest you go and talk to her mate, otherwise we'll both fail our OWLs!" Harry smirked, avoiding Ginny's eyes.

Ron scowled, but glanced up at the ceiling and walked determinedly out of the door.

"Was that Ron Weasley? Did he actually listen to me?"

Ginny laughed, "I think he might have finally realised what a stupid git he really is."


End file.
